Lost World
by Xelvanox
Summary: When Earth is invaded by mysterious creatures that call themselves the Tasen, what can one man do to help the survivors of the planet?
1. Shelter

**Lost World**

Part 1: Invasion

Chapter 1: Shelter

_What a terrible day. A Saturday, no work, nothing to do, and it's raining. Great, it's another uneventful day._

That's what I thought, but I could not have been more wrong.

* * *

My name's Mark. I had recently graduated college and had been living on my own for a while. With lots of bills to pay and a relatively low income, I hardly ever got a day off. That one Saturday morning was one of those rare occasions I was home with nothing to do. I will never forget that day; none of us will.

I remember looking out the window and seeing rain pouring down as if the floodgates of the heavens had opened. The sky looked dreadful, with dark thunderclouds looming ominously over the land. Then, something caught my eye. A dim circle of light appeared through the cloud cover. It was pure white light, and must have been bright to appear through the cloud and reach me, miles away. The circle looked to be about 50 yards across, and was slowly getting brighter.

"What in the hell…"

Another circle appeared, closer to me than the first. Then two more and five more and six more strange glowing circles appeared. Soon, the entire sky was filled with these dim circles, which grew brighter by the second. I could see people stopped on the street outside, casting down their umbrellas and staring up at the strange phenomenon.

I could think of only one thing to do. I quickly rushed into another room and pulled up the rug there. I took a key out of my pocket and stuck it into a small keyhole in the floor there. The floorboards in a three foot by three foot square of the floor dropped about five inches and a crease opened between two of the boards to reveal a cleverly concealed trapdoor.

Now I know what you're thinking: What weirdo would have a trapdoor in their home? This isn't Scooby Doo where someone falls into a trap door which quickly closes by itself, leaving no evidence. Tell that to my grandpa. He's the one who built the house. You see, that was back in the Cold War, where many people were convinced that we would be bombed by the USSR. He thought he would be smart and build a small bomb shelter under his house, so he dug a tunnel down to a small lead-plated shelter and concealed the entrance.

I pulled the panels apart by sticking my fingers into the crease formed by their slight separation. There was thick metal plating on the underside of this trapdoor. I hopped into the tunnel below and hung onto the ladder placed on the wall there, using one hand to close the door above me and latch it into place. I was left in complete darkness. I felt my way down the ladder and to the floor below. There was a flashlight conveniently found on a small shelf which I promptly turned on so I could resume using my eyes. Beside where the flashlight lay were three spare flashlights and about thirty spare batteries.

Opposite of the ladder, a thick metal door with a large handle stood. I grasped the handle and turned it upward, unlatching the door, which I then opened. Inside was the shelter my grandfather built many years before. The sight was not unfamiliar to me because I regularly stocked the shelter with food and water for such occasions. Nevertheless, I looked around with the flashlight beam. The entire perimeter of this room was made with painted lead-plated steel to protect against any radiation. Cabinets full of canned and dry foods, as well as bottled drinking water, lined one wall. I guess I'm just a little paranoid to actually spend the money to supply this place. Up in the top corner, there were three metal pipes leading up and out; one for the antennae of my radio devices, one to connect the electricity of my house to the shelter, and one exhaust vent for the large generator in the corner.

On one table stood radio equipment which I could use to check multiple frequencies for radio communications if something major did happen. There was also a television set and VCR player, with several science fiction films lying beside and on top of it. Next to the table was one of those spinning office chairs. A small bed was in one corner, with the door to a tiny bathroom next to it. In the corner was the large generator and bottles full of gasoline to power it. This generator was the resource which could fail the quickest, leaving me in permanent darkness.

I turned around and shut and latched the door. Next to it, I flipped a light switch and was happy to find that a fluorescent light brightened the entirety of the shelter. In the newfound brightness, I saw that the bed I had prepared was in the same state I left it. The dull cream color these walls were painted was interrupted in places by _Star Trek_ and _Star Wars_ posters. Just because this place was built for emergencies doesn't mean it can't be colorful.

I sat in my office chair and spun around a few times. My electricity still worked, so maybe I overreacted to the strange phenomenon outside in the sky. I flipped the switch on my flashlight to off and picked up a book from the table (Which I probably should have cleaned up a little) and began to read the cover. _A Brief History of Time: Stephen Hawking_ was printed in large letters on the cover, along with a photograph of the famous professor. I had already read this many times, but I decided to again.

It wasn't more ten seconds before what had feared occurred. I felt the ground vibrate and a dull hum sound from the surface. The electricity went out soon after. Then, all was silent. I could hear nothing, see nothing, and had no idea what was going on.

"Okay, so that thing in the sky probably did that and the strange lighting could have been some weapon charging – Wait, who would have that kind of technology? Russia? Germany? Aliens? Oh no, has anyone died? I hope that I am just overreacting! Oh wow how could this happen?"

I calmed and started to clear my head. I needed a plan of action. I first turned on the flashlight. I then powered on the generator. The light came on soon. I noticed that the generator gave off some heat, so that's another reason why I couldn't run it all the time. I flipped on the switches to my radio equipment and donned the headset. First, I searched the common radio frequencies in FM. On the stations which would have played music, broadcasted news, and the like, there was only static. It was true, something big had happened. I used one of the pre-programmed settings to search for messages on all frequencies.

I listened to the different frequencies. First there was only static, but on a certain frequency I heard something different. It sounded like a conversation in a different language, maybe Japanese. The voices sounded strange; they had a wide range of pitches and sounded muffled. One of the voices sounded very angry, and it had the deepest sound. Another sounded calm and had a voice a little higher pitched than mine. I listened for about five minutes, until the communications ended abruptly.

I knew I needed to stay in the shelter; I didn't want to die. I soon set up a daily pattern: Sleep for a while with the generator off. Turn it on and only power one or two things, so I could also charge the on-board battery. I split my time between reading the books I found in the food cabinet, watching Star Trek from the tapes, and searching for messages on the radio. Nothing eventful happened for twenty days (I counted them.)

After those twenty days, I happened to find something other than static or those weird foreign voices on the radio. It was a distinct male voice, and belonged to someone who might have been a little younger than me. I listened to it a few times because it was a looped message. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"My name is Dan Kataiser. Some survivors and I are living in the D.C.M.F.P.R. Research facility. If you can possibly make the trip while avoiding the Tasen, we would be grateful for the help. This is the site of the Tasen landing and the source of all the alien activity, so it is heavily guarded. We need your help and you probably need ours. We can provide protection in the form of a protective nanofield, and it would be advantageous to pool our resources. This is Dan Kataiser, calling for your help."

"What could all this mean? He said something about Tasen, which must be a group of… things… and a landing. Alien activity – Wait, these Tasen are aliens? That would explain it. What is a nanofield? Oh, if he said 'make the trip while avoiding Tasen', then there is probably no radiation! I can come out of this shelter!"

I packed a bag full of dried food and bottles of water. Who knew how long this trip would be on foot? I took a flashlight, extra batteries, and a small gun I kept in the back of the food cabinet. I was ready to go.


	2. Travel

Chapter 2: Travel

_I'm going to travel to a place several miles away through an area infested with alien creeps. Sounds like a walk in the park._

* * *

Apparently, the big attack didn't destroy everything. I have been in my house for the past hour and it is still standing. Outside the window, things don't look as good. Most of everything is still standing, but there are some buildings that have been burned to the ground. The most changed thing, though, is that there are no people. No cars roamed the streets, no people played in their yards, and there were dead plants everywhere. I could not hear the chirping of birds, or the talking people, or anything. The world, or what I could see of it, seemed _dead_.

Maybe it was radiation, but wouldn't that be harmful, even now? It was probably some alien weapon that humans don't understand now. By the standing houses it appeared to not purely destroy. Maybe it targeted life itself, or maybe it's targeting just open places.

I needed a plan of action. I couldn't just walk or run several miles to the Research Facility. I could take my motorcycle, but that would be risking an encounter with something. I needed more supplies before taking a trip that long and risky, anyway. What would I do, though? If everything in my house has remained, maybe I could get some supplies from a store.

Whatever I did, wherever I went, I would need a way to get there. The primary methods of transportation available to me were walking, and riding my motorcycle. Walking was slow, tiring, and I would be more vulnerable, but I wouldn't be noticed. Riding would be quick and easy, but it would also be loud, noticeable, and I might run out of gas.

I looked out the window again. There was still nothing, no movement outside. With nothing out there, what was the chance of being in danger while riding? Probably lower than I feared. The best decision was to take my motorcycle.

I headed out to the garage and slowly pulled open the door. Outside, it was just as I had observed. All the plants seemed lifeless, and there was no chirping of birds or barking of dogs. It was unbelievably quiet, with only the moaning of the wind to interrupt the solemn yet disturbing peace. As I walked outside, I noticed that it was unseasonably cold. It was early summer, yet it felt like early spring. I pulled my jacket tighter around me.

I walked out into the street. There was no sign of life still. Looking down the street, I see a car parked in the street. It had been there before the big destructive beam thing. _It looks like no one has been outside since then _I thought. I walked over to the car, calmly and slowly. Someone watching me would have a hard time noticing the anxiety welling inside of me. As I approached the car, I looked in the window. There was no one in side, of course, but there were keys in the set. I opened the door and climbed in. If I was going to travel places, this would be the way to go.

I put the key in the ignition and started the car. It still ran, and had half a tank of gas. _What luck!_ I though as I put it into gear. But where would I go; where would I need to go? I thought about supplies. I would need food to replenish the supplies at my house. I should make my house my base of operations unless it is too inconvenient. From there, once I have gathered my supplies and prepared myself, I should head toward the Research facility.

I drove slowly down the street. It's a good thing the engine was quiet, because I was more exposed than I had wanted to be as I drove across the small town. I lived in a quiet little town where half the people knew each other, about five miles from D.C.M.F.P.R. The roads were fairly narrow, and the houses were packed tightly in some places and spread out in others. I drove down a winding road out of my neighborhood and toward the center of town. I had decided my destination was the supermarket.

Around me were houses that looked in bad need of repair, with roofs sagging inward and walls looking damaged. I didn't remember this area being so dirty-looking, so it was enough to raise alarm. I started driving slower, and looked around every corner for anything dangerous. After a few moments of not seeing anything, I resumed my previous speed. There was probably nothing there, anyway.

I finally arrived at the town square, where the super market stood off to the side. I parked next to the door, since there was no reason to park in the parking lot when I haven't seen anyone around in a few weeks. Getting out of my 'acquired' vehicle, I looked around. _No one._ It was amazing, and depressing, to see everyone just gone.

I walked inside the large building and retrieved my flashlight from my pack. There were no lights on in there and I would not be caught unprepared. As I approached the sliding glass doors, I did not slow down to open them. My ignorance was apparent as I hit the glass face-first.

_What the- Oh, no electricity, stupid!_ This time, I pulled the door open, turned the flashlight on, and looked inside. The smell of rotten meat was faint from all over the store. Perishable items don't do well when the power's out. Over to the side, there were the isles of cans and bottled things. Those should be what I am looking for. I strode over to those.

_Soup, soup, more soup. Canned veggies, I'll take this and this. Fruit juice: not expired yet. I'll take that, too. _I filled the rest of my pack and got what else I could carry. Taking it back to the car, I wondered how much I would need. Probably not a whole lot, but enough to last. I went back and got another pack full. I needed to survive off of this stuff, so I got what looked best.

After I had obtained some food, I looked around for anything else I may have need for. There were camping supplies over by the wall; those would be useful for my no-electricity situation. I decided not to stay there any longer for fear of fainting. The smell of rotting things was getting a bit overwhelming.

I rushed outside to the somewhat-fresh air. There was no need to go back immediately, I thought, so I walked around for a while. The cool, non meat smelling air felt pretty good compared to inside that place. In the parking lot, there were a few cars, but not many. I walked over to one of them. It was a tall red truck with large tires. Under the truck was… what was that?

I walked over to the truck to see what was under it. It was white, small, and looked like a ball. It almost looked like-

A skull. It was a human skull. I was shocked to see a skull just lying there under that truck. It was the first physical remains of a person I had seen in a long time. To see a skull just lying there made me wonder. How did this happen? If everyone is dead, where are the bodies? If they are alive, where are they? It's like everyone has just disappeared except for me, and this one skull.

_Maybe there was something from the sky. If this person crawled under the truck just in time, maybe his skull survived because the truck blocked some of the… whatever it was. If so, then this thing could have vaporized anyone that was in direct sight of it. That could explain why there are no bodies, but it is just one of my many improbable theories. What could have happened that would have done this?_

_There must be survivors. If I am alive, if that Dan guy is alive, then there must be more. I must find them, no matter what happens. To find the people is to find hope, and to find hope is to find a fighting chance. There is nothing else I can do, except exist off of the food here and live in my house, alone. I must find them._

I drove home, both disturbed that I had seen a human skull, and hopeful that I could find more people.


End file.
